JimboF

I also recall how impressed I was with North Texas' football teams during the early 2000s when they were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

Well, I'm almost 54 years old, so Rice's accomplishments that I mentioned didn't seem that long ago to me.

I looked online and was also reminded that Rice football won an outright conference championship (CUSA) in 2008. Not bad! I don't think their basketball teams have won much of anything as long as I can remember though.

Rice won a baseball national championship in 2003, and they won three bowl games (and had two 10-win seasons) under David Bailiff from 2007-2017. Their ceiling isn't very high, but if they have the right head coaches in place, they're capable of doing well.

I guess one way to prevent Texas State from potentially "leapfrogging" North Texas and joining the Pac is to invite them into the AAC. Texas State would assuredly love to be in the same conference with North Texas, UTSA, and Rice. However, maybe the best long-term option for both Texas State and North Texas involves joining the Pac as a pair.

As for Cal and Stanford, it seems like their situation may be untenable in the long run. It may not happen, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them eventually join the new Pac rather than continuing to travel as much as a commercial flight crew.

I understand the attraction of playing against Memphis and Tulane, but I'm thinking those two schools might join the ACC in the not-too-distant future, especially if FSU, Clemson, and UNC join the SEC or Big Ten. If and when Memphis and Tulane depart, the AAC won't be nearly as desirable, and the Pac option would look outstanding for North Texas. The thing about the Pac is many of its schools will be almost impossible for another conference to poach based on their western geography. It certainly seems that the setup of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington will be the exception rather than otherwise. I really believe that the newly configured Pac will have loads of staying power.

Perhaps North Texas could provide more than two years' notice to the AAC, in which case the AAC exit fee may be reduced to a much more reasonable amount.

So what's the general consensus on this site regarding North Texas' desire to join the Pac?

Don't get me wrong, I like the North Texas football stadium better than the Alamodome. Nevertheless, there is certainly something to be said for saving hundreds of millions of dollars and renting a nearby stadium instead. It frees up money for other expenditures.

I think UTSA is somewhat fortunate, because they didn't have to pay for a football stadium to be constructed, and they just rent the Alamodome instead. That's the type of factor that can dramatically change the overall finances of an athletic department and make it more plausible to cobble together the AAC exit fee.

I agree that UTSA will have a major issue dealing with the AAC buyout, but you never know, where there's a will, there's a way.

So does that mean the Easter Bunny decided North Texas shouldn't have a baseball team?

By the way, is there any particular reason North Texas doesn't have a baseball team, which might actually matter to some Pac members?

I wouldn't say it's a duplication, because UTSA is in San Antonio, while San Marcos is considered part of the Austin metropolitan area. Perhaps that's "splitting hairs," but nonetheless, the San Antonio and Austin combined metropolitan populations exceed five million people, which is more than enough people to provide ample interest in those two athletic departments. I could be wrong, but I think it'll be those two rather than North Texas or Rice.